OFF PAGE ONE
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
HerMIsTOnHeraLd.COM • A9
Schools:
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growing and the district
would otherwise have diffi-
culty keeping up with Herm-
iston’s population. Already,
as she pointed out, the cur-
rent Rocky Heights has five
modular buildings, each of
which house five classrooms
a piece.
No modulars are planned
for the new buildings,
though, she said.
The addition of these
new schools even will allow
Highland Hills Elemen-
tary School to get rid of
its modular buildings. The
new schools will be able
to accept students who are
overflowing Highland Hills.
She added the new build-
ings will offer greater secu-
rity, as each school will keep
its students under a single
roof. People entering the
buildings will have to pass
through vestibules, where
they will be met by office
staff.
Hearing that students will
benefit from his work, Apa-
ricio said he felt glad. He
has worked on many differ-
ent projects, but most are
not as satisfying as schools,
he said. According to the
Wenaha manager, building
a school is special because
it serves children and their
development.
“There’s an extra incen-
tive to deliver a good prod-
uct,” he said. “There’s noth-
ing like seeing the smiles on
children when they step into
their new building.”
Fowler shared this sen-
timent. The Kirby Nagel-
hout superintendent said this
project is exciting, as it is his
first elementary school con-
struction, and he is happy to
be working for the benefit of
young students.
He said many Rocky
Heights students, who are
studying out of the old build-
ing, adjacent to the construc-
tion site, often check out the
ongoing work. They stand
outside the fence, and watch
their new school take form,
he said.
“It’s gratifying to see
the kids, playing next door,
peeking through the fence
and watching it come up,”
he said.
Port:
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solution that benefits local
farmers, port industries and
the region as a whole.
“The Port of Morrow
has been working collab-
oratively with DEQ on
the content of this action,”
Neal said. “We look for-
ward to jointly developing a
resolution.”
High levels of nitrates in
drinking water are linked
with serious health con-
cerns, particularly for babies
and pregnant women.
Groundwater is used as
a primary source of drink-
ing water across the basin,
which spans northern Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties
— including the cities of
March:
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Instead, he said, people
should choose to love one
another. When people fol-
low the path of love, instead
of bigotry and hate, they can
unite.
Continuing the work
There is a lot of work left
to do if we are to move for-
ward together in a just world,
according to Rome in a dis-
cussion before the event. The
Hermiston Cultural Aware-
ness Coalition, formerly the
Black International Aware-
ness Club, is one of the lon-
gest existing cultural diver-
sity organizations within the
Hermiston and surround-
ing communities, he said.
He added the purpose of
the committee is to promote
the teachings of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and to sup-
port diversity and equality in
the greater Hermiston Ore-
gon community.
“It was started as a grass-
roots movement in 2000 with
community members from
all walks of life — clergy,
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Framing nears completion Jan. 12, 2022, on the library at the new Rocky Heights Elementary
School, Hermiston.
Construction crews work Jan. 12, 2022, on the site of the new
Rocky Heights Elementary School, Hermiston.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
The Hermiston Butte is visible Jan. 12, 2022, through the front windows of what will be the new
Rocky Heights Elementary School, Hermiston.
The teachers, too, he said,
have a gander at the work
and also seem excited. As
often he does not even meet
the people who take posses-
sion of his projects, he said
this one is special; he gets to
see his customers.
The Hermiston schools
superintendent said Rocky
Heights staff have toured the
new building several times
and seem to like what they
have seen.
Standing in the princi-
Hermiston, Boardman, Irri-
gon, Stanfield and Echo.
Historically, the sources
of groundwater contamina-
tion in the Lower Umatilla
Basin Groundwater Man-
agement Area are fertilizer
used on irrigated farmland,
confined animal feeding
operations, livestock pas-
tures, food processing
wastewater and septic sys-
tems, according to DEQ’s
press release.
“The existing nitrate con-
tamination in the basin’s
groundwater means every-
one in the region has to do
their part to reduce this con-
tamination,” Feldon said.
DEQ also alleges the port
failed to monitor nitrogen at
application sites on 121 sep-
arate occasions each year
from 2018-2020.
small business owners, farm-
ers, educators, community
advocates and concerned
community members that
wanted to raise awareness
and concern around the need
for more diversity and equal-
ity within rural Eastern Ore-
gon,” he said
Specifically, he said he
takes to heart the follow-
ing quote from King: “Life’s
most persistent and urgent
question is ‘What are you
doing for others?’”
Rome credited HCAC’s
advocacy for encouraging
the city of Hermiston to
formally recognized MLK
Day in 2000. He said he
believes his nation, state
and local community have
made progress toward
equality, but “we still have
a long way to go for equal
rights and equality for all”
and he keeps King’s words
in mind.
“I truly believe if we
take Dr. King’s words to
heart and reach out to all our
neighbors, and not just to the
neighbors that look and talk
like us,” Rome said, “we are
one step closer in seeing Dr.
King’s dream come true.”
pal’s future office, Aparicio
pointed out one of the rea-
sons why the school’s prin-
cipal might be enthusias-
tic; it has a full view of the
Hermiston Butte, across the
street, in Butte Park.
Josh Browning, Loma
Vista principal, likely is
happy also, Mooney said,
because he will soon have
an office.
“He’s just been going
from place to place, itiner-
ant,” she said.
The challenges of
construction
Life is not just sunshine
and rainbows, Aparicio
and Fowler said. Sure, they
said, people are excited,
but this does not mean
work has advanced without
challenges.
This year’s snowfall
made additional work;
laborers had to remove snow
from parts of the project that
were uncovered and sub-
ject to the elements. Apa-
ricio and Fowler, however,
stopped short of saying the
snowfall created a delay
in the project. Rather, they
said, the snowfall forced
them to redirect labor to
other tasks.
Snow and cold weather
have not been their biggest
worry, they said. They said
material acquisition was a
much bigger concern, but
they had a solution to this
problem.
According to Aparicio,
he has heard from some dis-
tributors, contractors and
suppliers who have strug-
gled to secure materials on
other projects. Some things,
which would ordinarily take
six weeks, are delayed by up
to three months, he said.
“Our team worked franti-
cally to get what we needed
before anyone else got to it,”
Fowler said, and they were
able to “escape the volatility
of the market” through early
purchasing.
“Procurement is com-
plicated at this time,” Apa-
ricio said. “We jumped on
stuff way earlier than we
would’ve to make sure that
we had it when we needed
it.”
Some of these things
have been stored on site and
are moved as needed.
“We’d rather deal with
the issue of moving things
around that is already here
as opposed to not having it
when we need it,” he said.
Moving on in
Mooney said she has
concerned herself with
obtaining extra staff for the
schools. In addition to the
new principal, new custodial
staff and secretaries will be
needed. Some staff, includ-
ing teachers, will transfer to
the new schools.
Mooney calls the move-
ment of staff, classes and
students a “shuffling around
the district.” Some stu-
dents, who are attending
one school, will be moved
to new schools, as new lines
are drawn within the district.
Students who will enter
the new schools are in for
a treat, according to Apari-
cio. Exposed wood, polished
concrete floors, a waved
roofline and wide windows
will add to the aesthetics, he
said.
“They’re going to be
beautiful,” Aparicio said of
the schools.
Mooney added her own
description — “amaz-
ing.” She said the schools
will host tours for the pub-
lic prior to their opening, if
their schedule permits.
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